Those Who Argue Over Right and Wrong Are Mere Mortals

Xuefeng

February 15, 2025

When flies and bees argue over right and wrong—who is right and who is wrong? Clearly, the one who argues is wrong.

When a blade of grass and a towering tree argue over right and wrong—who is right and who is wrong? Naturally, the one who remains silent is right.

When a cat and a mouse, a wolf and a sheep, an ox and a horse argue over right and wrong—who is right and who is wrong? Neither is wrong, but the one who argues is.

When Christianity and Buddhism argue over right and wrong—who is right and who is wrong? When a university professor and a three-year-old child argue over right and wrong—who is right and who is wrong? When a walnut and a watermelon argue over right and wrong—who is right and who is wrong?

When a man and a woman argue over right and wrong, when worldly people and mortals argue over right and wrong, when mortals and sages argue over right and wrong, when sages and celestial beings argue over right and wrong, when Buddhas and Super Celestial Beings argue over right and wrong—tell me, who is right and who is wrong?

When husbands and wives argue over right and wrong, and in the end, they part ways—who ended up being right?

Even if you are right ten thousand times over, you still cannot declare others wrong. Can a bee say that flies are wrong for feeding on feces? Can a cat say that a mouse is wrong for digging holes? Can a mortal say that worldly people are wrong for being obsessed with money? Can a celestial being say that mortals are wrong for prioritizing emotions? None of these judgments hold any weight!

Even between brothers, between sisters, between colleagues, between those who walk the same path, one cannot say, “I am right, and you are wrong.” One is destined for heaven, the other for hell—of course, their thoughts and actions will differ entirely. How can one claim to be right while the other is wrong?

Can you say someone’s appearance is “wrong”? Can you say someone’s parents “gave birth to the wrong person”? Can you say someone’s opinions and stance are “wrong”? Can you say that eating only sweet potatoes and not potatoes is “wrong”? Can you declare it “wrong” for someone to cheat, steal, or even commit murder? Can you declare it “wrong” for lions and tigers to hunt and eat herbivores?

The human world is a transit station where all things either ascend or fall, a marketplace where debts are repaid, and a crucial link in the dynamic balance of cosmic life. This is simply how the world is. If you find mice sneaky and repulsive, that is your own issue. If you think the Tao is unfair, that is merely your short-sightedness, unaware of past causes and consequences.

To argue with others over right and wrong is to invite trouble upon yourself—it severs your own path to joy and happiness.

Now, here’s a question: What if three, five, or even a group of people are working together on a project—say, building a villa—and a disagreement arises during the process?

Simple! Whoever is in charge gets the final say. Whoever is in charge bears all consequences. The others should simply cooperate with joy. If you neither take responsibility nor bear the consequences, yet refuse to cooperate, then what nonsense are you spouting?

If you insist that someone is wrong, that their methods and ideas are flawed—fine! Take charge yourself and bear all consequences. If you cannot take responsibility and cannot bear the consequences, then what nonsense are you spouting? Criticizing and blaming others—who cannot do that?

If you believe someone lacks the qualifications or character to take responsibility and cannot bear the consequences, then the solution is simple—leave them and walk your own path. Isn’t that an easy way to resolve the conflict of right and wrong?

If others laugh, that is their freedom and their right. If you want to cry, that is your freedom and your right. But if those who wish to laugh forbid others from crying, or those who wish to cry forbid others from laughing— that’s just absurd.